Kent State Golden Flashes
The Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represents Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The Golden Flashes compete in the Mid-American Conference East Division and last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008. Founded in 1913, the team gained national attention during the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament by advancing to the Elite Eight as a tenth seed and posted ten consecutive twenty-win seasons, from the 1998-1999 season to the 2007-2008 season. Kent State has five total appearances in the NCAA Division I basketball tournament along with five Mid-American Conference tournament championships, five MAC overall titles, and eight MAC East division titles. History Started in 1913, the men's basketball team is Kent State's oldest collegiate team, started just three years after the school was established in 1910 as the Kent State Normal School and just one year after the first classes were held in 1912. They played their first game against Kent High School. The team played in what is now Cartwright Hall, which opened in 1914, until Wills Gymnasium opened in 1923. In 1950, the team moved to their current home, known originally as the Men's Physical Education Building, later to be known as Memorial Gym (1956-1992) and currently as the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. The next year, 1951, saw Kent State join the Mid-American Conference. The team existed in relative anonymity for most of its existence. They made their first appearance in the MAC Tournament Championship game (which began in 1980) in 1984, losing a close 42-40 game. They would make the title game again in 1987 and 1989, losing both 64-63 and 67-65 respectively. The Flashes made their first post-season appearance in the 1985 National Invitation Tournament, losing in the first round. They returned to the NIT in 1989 and 1990, losing in the first round both times. Beginnings of success In 1996, Gary Waters was hired as head coach and began to build what would become the longest run of success in Mid-American Conference history. In 1999 the Flashes won over 20 games and defeated the Miami RedHawks in the MAC Tournament Championship game in Toledo to win their first MAC Tournament title and make their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, where they were defeated by Temple in the opening round at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The following season, the Flashes again won over 20 games and finished second in the MAC East, but failed to win the conference tournament and received their first NIT invitation since 1990. The Flashes hosted the first round game against Rutgers and recorded their first-ever post-season win, a 73-62 victory. Kent State would win their second-round match-up at Villanova before falling in the quarterfinals at Penn State. The 2000-2001 season saw the Flashes win their first-ever MAC East title and their second tournament title to return to the NCAA Tournament. The experience in the NIT proved to be valuable as Kent State scored their first win, a 77-73 upset over the fourth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers, before falling to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second round in San Diego, California. The Kent State website incorrectly lists the score of Kent State's win as 76-71 At the end of the 2000-2001 season, Waters accepted the head coaching job at Rutgers University. While at KSU, Waters overall record was 92-60. He was succeeded at Kent State by Stan Heath, setting the stage for the most memorable season in Kent State basketball history. 2001-2002 season Kent State enjoyed its best season in 2001-2002, led by seniors Trevor Huffman, Andrew Mitchell, Demetric Shaw, and Eric Thomas and junior transfer (and future NFL star) Antonio Gates. The season saw MAC records set in overall wins (30), conference wins (17), and longest winning streak (21). After beginning the season a mediocre 4-4, Kent State dramatically turned their season around by winning 20 of their next 21 games. Following their only MAC loss of the season (a 66-65 loss at Buffalo), they proceeded to win 15-straight games to close the regular season at 24-5 with a 17-1 record in the MAC and winning their first-ever MAC regular season title. After winning the MAC Tournament, the Flashes found themselves seeded tenth in the South regional bracket. After scoring a mild upset of the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Flashes gained national attention by defeating second-seeded SEC champion Alabama 71-58 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Flashes followed that win with a 78-73 overtime win over third-seeded Pitt to become the first MAC team to advance to the Elite Eight since Ohio in 1964, when the tournament contained only 22 teams. The Flashes 21-game winning streak and dream season came to an end in the Elite Eight with an 81-69 loss to Indiana. The Flashes finished the season at 30-6 and were ranked twelfth in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll released after the tournament. Following the season, Stan Heath accepted the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas, leaving after just one season and a record of 30-6. Assistant coach Jim Christian was hired later that year as the next head coach. Jim Christian era on January 23, 2008 at the MAC Center in Kent, Ohio.]] The Flashes continued their success under Jim Christian, winning over twenty games every season he was coach along with MAC East titles in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2008; MAC overall titles in 2006 and 2008; and winning the MAC Tournament again in 2006 and 2008. In both 2003 and 2004, Kent State lost in the MAC Tournament championship game and received bids to the NIT. Following their 2006 MAC Tournament title, they advanced to the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament as a twelfth seed where they lost in the opening round. In 2004, Kent State broke the MAC record for consecutive seasons with twenty or more wins by posting their sixth consecutive season. The streak is currently at ten as the 2007-2008 team won their twentieth game on February 12, 2008 at Central Michigan University. In addition, Kent State broke the record for consecutive seasons with ten or more conference wins in a season by posting their ninth consecutive season of ten or more conference wins in 2006-2007, breaking the previous record of eight. The 2007-2008 season has seen several firsts and milestones for the program. On February 19, 2008, the Flashes recorded their 1,000th win in program history, a 76-66 win over the Buffalo Bulls at Buffalo's Alumni Arena. On February 24, the Flashes scored their first-ever win against a ranked team in the regular season, defeating the Gaels of St. Mary's College of California 65-57 in Moraga, California. This was followed by Kent State's first-ever regular season ranking, rising to twenty-third in the Associated Press poll and twenty-fourth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. With their 61-58 win at Akron on March 9 to close out the regular season, Kent State set a program record for wins in the regular season with twenty-five, breaking the previous record of twenty-four set in the 2001-2002 season. Following their fifth conference tournament title, Kent State earned the highest seed in school history, a ninth seed in the Midwestern region of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, where they fell to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in the opening round. On March 29 Jim Christian resigned to take the head coaching job at Texas Christian University. He finished with a career record of 138-58 at Kent State. Christian was replaced by his top assistant coach Geno Ford, who officially took over the program on 2 April. MAC season results Overall conference titles shaded in ██ gold. East division titles shaded in ██ light yellow. *''' - Overall record includes tournament and postseason results; Regular-season conference record contained in parentheses. '''** - The MAC Tournament was first held in 1980. Beginning in 2000, it included all conference members. Post-season tournament results MAC Tournament Kent State has appeared in all but three Mid-American Conference tournaments since the tournament began in 1980 The MAC Tournament did not include all conference teams until the 2000 tournament and through 2011 has an overall record of 32–22 in tournament play. Through 2011, the Flashes have appeared in eleven MAC title games, winning five. The tournament 5 championship wins are second-most in conference history behind Ball State's seven titles and the 11 appearances are tied for the most with Miami. NCAA Tournament The Golden Flashes have appeared in five NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 4-5. NIT Kent State has appeared in eight National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 3-7. *Beginning in 2006, the NIT began using a seeding and region system similar to what is used in the NCAA Tournament. Other tournaments Kent State has appeared in one additional postseason tournament, the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Their record is 0-1. Retired numbers Rivalries Kent State's main rivalry is with the Akron Zips, who are located just 14 miles from Kent. The rivalry includes other sports within the MAC, most prominently in football, but has been most competitive between the schools' men's basketball squads in recent years. Games at campus sites usually sell out due to the schools' close proximity with each other and the stakes attached to each game. During the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons the two teams faced each other three times each season—including back-to-back conference tournaments—with Akron winning all three meetings in 2007 and Kent State taking all three in 2008. The Zips eliminated the Flashes from the 2007 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament with a 61–54 semifinal win in Cleveland and Kent State routed the Zips 74–55 in the 2008 MAC Championship game in Cleveland to gain an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament bracket after narrowly taking both meetings in the regular season. In 2009, a 67–63 Kent State win at the MAC Center on March 9 prevented Akron from winning its first-ever MAC regular season title. In 2010, the teams played each other in a nationally-televised game at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron to conclude the season with each team coming into the game with 12–3 conference records and tied for first place in the MAC East Division and overall MAC standings. Kent State defeated the Zips 74–61 to claim the overall MAC title and top seed in the 2010 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament. The Flashes repeated the feat the following season, defeating the Zips March 4, 2011 at the MAC Center 79-68 in a nationally televised game to clinch the overall MAC regular season title and top seed in the tournament. References Category:NCAA Division I schools Category:Mid-American Conference members Category:Schools in Ohio